Congress appointed senior leader P Chidambaram as the Chairman for the upcoming general elections scheduled for May this year. The party also constituted the manifesto committee for the general elections. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh TS Singh Deo is the Convenor of the Manifesto Committee.
The 16-member panel includes Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The development comes a day after a crucial Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting where the party discussed its Lok Sabha poll strategy and said it will announce the names of its candidates soon.
Former Union ministers Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor are also part of the committee. Senior Congress leader and former Manipur deputy chief minister Gaikhangam and the party's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi are also in the committee, along with All India Professionals Congress chief Praveen Chakravarty.
Earlier, on December 21, Congress leader KC Venugopal said that the CWC unanimously adopted the resolution to fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections both as a party in its own right and also as a member of the INDIA group. "The CWC calls upon all members of our great organisation to stand united with hope and confidence and immerse themselves with dedication and discipline in the election campaign," the resolution added.
The resolution highlighted the weaknesses of the Modi government by highlighting the claims of the government in contradiction to the ground realities including the high level of polarisation.
"There is a vast gap between what the Prime Minister claims and what the ground realities are. Social polarization is deepening and is being encouraged deliberately in a provocative manner for electoral gains. Democracy itself is under assault and all freedoms that our citizens are guaranteed under the Constitution are under attack. These are the issues at stake now," the resolution read.
"It reiterates the determination of the Indian National Congress to take all steps necessary to make the INDIA group an effective bulwark and force against the BJP and its allies," the resolution added.
"We had discussed various issues. First is the last assembly election, results. Second is the Parliament elections of 2024 and third is the current political situation in the country, including the parliament issues. CWC unanimously adopted their resolution. The general mood of the CWC is to sincerely and genuinely evaluate the result of 5 state elections," Venugopal said while addressing a press conference on Thursday.
This meeting of the CWC appreciated that preparations for the Lok Sabha polls have already commenced. "The Hain Taiyyar Hum rally being held in Nagpur on our foundation days a week from now is a very important step in this regard. The Congress President has been conducting state-wise reviews which are giving direction to the preparations. In addition, the CWC welcomes the latest initiative to strengthen the party's finances through broad--based public participation. Each CWC member will ensure that it is sustained," it added.
Moreover, the economic inequalities are widening while prices of essential commodities continue to rise and a growing jobs famine haunts the youth.This meeting comes after the BJP ousted the Congress from power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and retained Madhya Pradesh.
(With inputs from ANI)
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